Yoo Nam-seok


Yoo Nam-seok was the 7th President of the Constitutional Court of Korea since 21 September 2018 to 10 November 2023. Following the vacancy of the presidency of the Constitutional Court; his position has been held since 11 November 2023 by the acting president Lee Eu-nae until the nomination of the new president in the Constitutional Court. During his tenure, he was widely perceived to be part of the court's liberal bloc, and the Constitutional Court struck down restrictions of abortion in South Korea in 2019.

Early life and education

Born in Mokpo, Jeonnam Province of South Korea, Yoo Nam-seok graduated from Seoul National University college of law. He passed the 23rd in 1981 and completed the Judicial Research and Training Institute in 1983 to be a judge.

Career

He expressed his view that conscientious objectors should be allowed to be granted the opportunity for alternative military service instead of being punished on his paper titled ‘Legal Review on Conscientious Objectors’ during his military service as an army legal officer in 1985.
He was a presiding judge of the before becoming the 35th Chief Judge of the to replace his predecessor in February 2016.
He was appointed as Constitutional Court Justice directly by President of South Korea Moon Jae-in on October 19, 2017, and sworn in on November 13, 2017.
The National Assembly passed a bill to appoint him as the President of the Constitutional Court on September 20, 2018, and President Moon appointed him to the presidency the next day.

Career